Fitness for Golf

Golf has traditionally been viewed as a non-physical athletic activity; often thought of as a kind of sporting version of lawn croquet!! But the truth is quite the contrary. All of the fundamental requirements golf places on the body for rotation, motion, balance, strength and hand-eye coordination are equal to or greater than the requirements for any other athletic activity.

A commitment of 20 to 30 minutes daily of stretching and exercising can regain the dysfunctional body’s ability to move and function properly. Regardless of age, the body has the capacity to regain its function very rapidly. Even… if you don’t play golf.

Just a simple, consistent Stretching Program will make muscles stronger, (believe it or not) and will help greatly in avoiding injuries.Many past attitudes of “it’s a non-physical athletic game" are changing. Today, most all the Tour players know they must have some sort of a stretching-exercise program to compete at the highest level AND avoid injuries.

Never hesitate to consult with a Sports - Medical Doctor or Physical Therapist if you have areas of concerns due to past injuries or problem areas.

The BTN Program

BTN Stretch Program (Better Than Nothing)

Avery simple Stretch and Hold while relaxing program. Designed to avoid boredom by avoiding repetitions of any one stretch.
Do a combination of many different ones instead of same sets each week(s). Make sure the over-all time works into your schedule easily and…. Realistically.

Design your RoutineUsing the Golfsilver.com StretchSheets (links below, 3 sheets), pick out stretches that you think fit your needs or physical abilities.Figure 5 to 15 counts (seconds) of Hold and lightly Stretch per stretch. Figure an additional 5 to 15 seconds if stretch is for both left and right sides. (noted on StretchSheets)

AttitudeThis program is NOT a “no pain so there must be no gain” process. The idea here is to avoid injury, improve and thus strengthen your golf swinging parts.Relax and let your muscles talk to you while Holding and lightly Stretching.

Expected ResultsMight not notice much difference for three to four weeks. Depending on your time how much or how little your time schedule permits, the process will speed up a lot. You will probably notice little things in your everyday motions, like being able to reach easier for something, bend down or sit up easier. All of which will make you SWING BETTER and easier!!!!!!
NO MATTER WHAT AGE, younger and older. Anything isBetter ThanNothing.

Stretching vs. ExercisingMost of the Stretches can easily be turned into an Exercise by just adding sets of repetitions. Just depends on what speed and/or number of in each set. If you feel like you want to add some exercise to your BTN Program, OK…but figure it all into your over-all times. Keep that over-all time "realistic" to yourself. Doing as an excerise will obviously take a little more time.

note: Some experts say the best time to do this type of "static" stretching (BTN Program) is in place of your sports activity when not doing so.

So, when you play golf, don't stretch on those days, except for slightly just before playing for a warm-up.
No golf activity, have stretch days instead.